Tuesday, November 14, 2017

POTD: The Uncola

From 2017 09 18 Waco

Today's photo-of-the-day comes from the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas. Dr Pepper acquired 7 Up in 1988 and today, the Dr Pepper Museum affords equal space, or more, to 7 Up.

The "Uncola" ad campaign has been described as "the most psychedelic, LSD-friendly ad campaign of all time." That psychedelic 7 Up found a home in Waco, Texas, is still one of history's least-likely facts.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Monday, November 13, 2017

The Retail Apocalypse and Richardson

I have long been a fan of mixed-use development, even though I have had criticism about how it's been done in Richardson. Except for the single two block stretch of State Street in CityLine that is walkable, Richardson's so-called mixed-use developments have been mostly the same-old 1980s model of apartments and strip shopping centers. Instead, I wanted to stuff ground-floor retail in all those new apartment developments. And upper-story apartments in all those new restaurants. Now, changes in the retail environment might mean I have to rethink my enthusiasm for mixed-use.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Victoria & Abdul (2017)

IMDB
Victoria & Abdul (2017): Lonely queen befriends Indian servant, scandalizes court. Great fun as Dame Judi Dench puts down stuffy English. B+











Thursday, November 9, 2017

POTD: Waco: Where It All Began

From 2017 09 18 Waco

Waco: where it all began. If by "all" you mean Dr Pepper. Today's photo-of-the-day comes from the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas, the city where it all began in the late 1800s. Dr Pepper didn't acquire 7 Up until much later, in 1988. I have no idea where it began. You could look it up. Me? I'm going to have a Dr Pepper.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Baby Driver (2017)

IMDB
Baby Driver (2017): Getaway driver with thing for music and a sweet girlfriend. Chase scenes that get better as movie goes over the top. B+











Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Review: A Place of Greater Safety

A Place of Greater Safety
Amazon
From A Place of Greater Safety, by Hilary Mantel:
Open quote 

Fifteen years from now, on the day the Bastille falls, the price of bread in Paris will be at its highest in sixty years. Twenty years from now (when it is all over), a woman of the capital will say: 'Under Robespierre, blood flowed, but the people had bread. Perhaps in order to have bread, it is necessary to spill a little blood.' "

This quarter-century-old historical novel attracted me for two reasons. First, it's by Hilary Mantel. I greatly enjoyed her two novels about Thomas Cromwell and the court of Henry VIII ("Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies"). Second, it's about the French Revolution, a messy event that any history of the modern world has to account for.

Monday, November 6, 2017

OTBR: Great Melbourne Telescope

Latitude: S 35° 17.952
Longitude: E 148° 55.278
A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously (not actually) last month that are "off the blue roads".